Fervent Amity
by vanderwoodsen
Summary: [WIP] Sirius Black has a crush on Lily Evans, but he tries to curb his feelings towards her because James Potter likes her. A lot. Can he overcome his natural instinct to take what he wants and not ruin a friendship? Rated PG13 for later chapters. REVIEW!
1. The Marauders

Authors Note: One night in bed, I was thinking about the chapter in OotP titled "Snape's Worst Memory", when Harry looks into Snape's pensieve. This chapter had a great effect on me, because I had never really liked the Marauders and refused to read fics about them, thinking they were boring. Well, my opinions changed after reading "SWM" and now I am an avid Marauder fan. After having a tiny spark of an idea, I used my mobile to key in the first few sentences. I woke up in the morning and started this fic.  
  
If you want to learn more about The Marauders (my personal favourite being Moony - that sweet little wolfie) - visit here:  
  
Disclaimer: I am not in any way associated with JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic or Warner Brothers. No money is being made (unfortunately, I'm practically destitute) and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. :Þ  
  
Please review when you have finished reading, thank you!  
  
"...And that's why you should never transfigure yourself if you are an unregistered, untrained animagus!" spouted Professor McGonagall.  
  
Sirius Black lolled back in his seat and stuck his tongue out and winked caddishly at the Gryffindor Lily Evans, who had turned around. She smirked and defiantly tossed her redheaded locks over one shoulder. James Potter nudged Sirius's chair gently so not to raise McGonagall's attention, who was now rambling on about Transfiguration do's and don'ts.  
  
"Hey, did you see that," he whispered excitedly, "I reckon I'm well in there!" His cocky words were unable to keep out how pleased he was to see that Lily turned around to look at him.  
  
Sirius laughed quietly, but it got the attention of many Slytherin and Gryffindor girls around the fifth year classroom. Unfortunately it also captured Professor McGonagall's attention too.  
  
"Black, if you don't keep your voice down and laughter to a minimum, I will be forced to take points from you. You may think it's funny that Augustine Knobble lost his nose and ears in a Transfiguration mishap, but let me assure you, he doesn't." Sirius smiled weakly and sunk down into his seat, much to the amusement of James and Remus Lupin.  
  
The rest of Transfiguration coasted through without any interruptions. The Marauders, as they called themselves, kept quiet. The Marauders consisted of Sirius Black, James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. They had greatly rued the day that a prank went wrong and they were all split up in Transfiguration - originally they had fortified the back row, but when Professor McGonagall found out that they were the brains behind the joke (which resulted in Severus Snape's hand being melted, dripping flaming hot skin onto the desks) they were moved about. James Potter to stay where he was. Peter in the front row to the right, Moony in the second to the left, Sirius in the third centre. James managed to switch with another Gryffindor so that he was directly behind his best friend, making it easy for them to whisper and pass notes to each other during the class. So far McGonagall hadn't noticed, so they were able to continue jesting through Transfiguration. 


	2. Resolute

When the class was over the group of four ambled out the door in high spirits, James especially. He pulled out his trademark, a golden snitch, and started tossing it about, not paying attention to it, just out of habit. It was lunchtime and they were making their way down to the Great Hall. It was November, and very stormy, making the roof of the Great Hall dull with the irregular flashes of light.   
  
"Ahhh... I'm starving!" James exclaimed. Lupin ladled some soup into a bowl.   
  
"I don't know why," he said serenely. "You could have ate for Britain this morning. Must have been all that staring that made you hungry." James stared at Lupin, and Sirius started laughing. Peter smiled sideways, not sure if he could laugh out loud or not. He was always a bit slow on the uptake.   
  
"Whaddya mean Moony?" As James mimicked goggle eyes, Sirius snorted and thumped him on the back.  
  
"At Lily, you daft git - I was sitting in front of you and I could sense your eyes zoning in on her. Unless, of course, you were zoning in on me, mate." Sirius slowly removed his hand from James and he spun round to look at his face.   
  
"There's something I want to tell you," James simpered jokily; as he leaned in close to Sirius (who was currently eating a sausage roll) and pretended to air kiss him. The four teens burst out laughing, and most of the girls at the Gryffindor table looked up to see what the commotion was.   
  
If every group had a 'romeo', for the Marauders it was definitely Sirius. Normally, a Slytherin girl wouldn't think once about liking a Gryffindor - but Sirius was from a famed pureblood family, and Black was a name that commanded respect in wizarding circles. Teamed with his family's high linage and Sirius' good looks and easygoing personality, he was thought of as a 'catch' at Hogwarts - so almost every girl in all four houses often eyed the handsome dark haired teen. Sirius, on the other hand, didn't think about most girls in the way they thought about him, although he knew he was well fanciable. He joked around with them, yes, and he had even kissed a few, but he didn't think twice about most of them. Save one.  
  
Lily Evans was a fellow Gryffindor, but she didn't speak to any of the Marauders often. Sirius admired her feisty personality and her vivid good looks, but didn't tell anyone this, after all, his best friend had been 'in lust' with her since - well - as long as they started noticing girls as something other than school friends. And that was how Sirius was going to keep it, for now, anyway. But he was sure that it was definitely him that she was looking at in Transfiguration...   
  
"...Padfoot. Sirius. SIRIUS!" James snapped his fingers in front of his best friends handsome face.   
  
"Hey...watch it Prongs. Can't a man have romantic dreams about his boyfriend?" Sirius stuck his tongue out saucily at James while Peter burst out laughing, spraying James with food.   
  
"Bloody hell, watch what you're doing there Wormtail - some of us have to keep up appearances." James mussed up his black hair.   
  
"Well, anyway, I think you have a chance. Lily's single isn't she?" Lupin said non-comittedly, this time eating some rhubarb crumble. "It's not like no-one's been asking her out - I heard that Sloane Wick asked her out last weekend she said no." This was news to James.   
  
"Sloane?" He looked over to the Ravenclaw table and saw the back of Wicks' head.   
  
"Well, no wonder, Wick looks like a bloody tree. Look at him - he's almost as tall as Dumbledore!   
  
Peter butted in. "He's good at Quidditch. Didn't you see him when Ravenclaw beat Hufflepuff, he managed to save that really difficult shot from Dahl..."   
  
James pushed back into his seat. "Yeah, only cos he's as fat as he is tall - he bloody covered the goals," he mumbled sullenly. This was quite an unfair accusation, Sloane Wick had a slight weight problem, but it was nothing a few weeks dieting wouldn't fix.   
  
Sirius smiled slowly. "C'mon, the main thing is she said no to him anyway. I don't know why you just don't ask her out. She's bound to say yes."   
  
Sirius didn't know what he was saying - - - he liked her, yet he was telling James to ask her out. Anyone looking at his cool, collected appearance would have no idea that inside his mind was reeling. His insides were fighting a battle. His heart wanted him to jump up, walk down to Lily and ask her out himself, but his head was telling him to shut up, keep quiet and let James get her. After all, he knew himself that he could have any pick of girls - why was it that it was only Lily that made his pulse race faster and his hands turn sweaty?   
  
He made up his mind. He would have to trust his head.   
  
"Prongs mate, you know what, you should ask her out tonight. In the common room. I'll make sure it's quiet for you guys, so you can ask her in private". Moony, Wormtail and Prongs looked at Sirius.   
  
"Thanks Padfoot," James grinned honestly.   
  
"You're a great friend, you know that, sweetheart?" Sirius crinkled his eyes while the other Marauders chuckled - but inside, Sirius felt like a two-faced and spiteful, something that he had been brought up with, but had never realised that he, Sirius Black, could have been. And now he knew. He was no different from any member of his so called 'family'. He was jealous, oh yes, and insincere. Insincere, because he was falling in love with the girl his best friend dreamed of at night, the only friend that had ever truly understood him and liked him for who he was - not just a 'name'. He made himself feel sick. Sirius decided right there and then, that he would get James and Lily together. He didn't know why, but he knew that if they were going out and everything was settled, it would prove that he wouldn't go down the same route as the rest of the Blacks.   
  
His jaw clenched resolutely as Lupin said - "Well then, its History of Magic next, oh the joy!" 


End file.
